NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

3/30/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - Top state education officials will be among the special guests at the Celebration of Teachers and Teaching at Northwestern State University on Friday, April 8. Celebration of Teachers and Teaching is an education conference for teachers and students and will serve as the backdrop for the unveiling of the Students Teaching and Reaching (STAR) program, a curriculum designed to recruit teachers.

Celebration of Teachers and Teaching will be held in Prather Coliseum beginning at 8:30 a.m. with check-in, breakfast and time to browse post-secondary opportunity booths and student exhibits.

Invited guests include Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Dr. Jimmy Clarke, deputy commissioner for planning, research and performance; Cecil Picard, state superintendent of education; NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb, Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Joseph Savoie and Walter Lee, vice president of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The opening session will include discussions on how the STAR curriculum evolved, STAR pilot presentations and an emergenetics overview. STAR is a recently approved program developed in cooperation with staff at Northwestern that encourages high school students to examine teaching as a career by offering an overview of the teaching profession. STAR students are provided with guidance for self-assessment, learning about others and diversity within Louisiana classrooms. Through STAR, students gain knowledge of the history of education and receive field experiences with an emphasis in the critical shortage areas of mathematics, science and special education.

Other sessions will address EPAS, articulation, diploma endorsements and more detailed information about STAR. EPAS is a system in place which includes the EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT tests. These tests help students identify areas of interest for future careers. Presentations will include information for students on how they can use the results of these tests to help them plan a career. Faculty will learn how to use the information to recruit students who have an interest in education as a career.

The Celebration of Teachers and Teaching will include a luncheon and is expected to conclude at 3 p.m.

Registration is on-line at www.nsula.edu/STAR. For more information on the Celebration of Teachers and Teaching, contact Susan Moak Nealy at (318) 357-5721 or e-mail nealys@nsula.edu.

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